The Importance of Maintaining Perspective

It is often all too easy to get so caught up in business -- in the "rat race" -- that we forget what is truly important. I just found out this morning that my family is facing the kind of situation that puts it all back into perspective: a loved one was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.

I write this entry to encourage all of us to remember what is all too real to me at this moment: we should never allow ourselves to become so consumed with work that we neglect the things that truly matter -- our families and loved ones.

My challenge to you is this: if you find yourself totally consumed by your work, take some time to step back and evaluate what really matters. Be careful that your work does not become the core of your identity.

In his book, Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald describes William Wilberforce's approach for maintaining perspective. As you may know, Wilberforce was a committed Christian and member of the English parliament in the early years of the nineteenth century. Wilberforce spent the better part of his life pushing for the abolition of slavery in the British empire. He eventually succeeded.

In Ordering Your Private World, MacDonald states that a new prime minister had taken office and that Wilberforce was rumored to be among the candidates for a cabinet position. MacDonald quotes Garth Lean (a Wilberforce biographer) as saying: "It did not take long for Wilberforce to become preoccupied with the possibility of the appointment. For days it grabbed at his conscious mind, forcing aside everything else. By his own admission he had 'risings of ambition,' and it was crippling his soul."

MacDonald goes on to say that there was a disciplined check and balance in Wilberforce's life that enabled him to maintain perspective. He quotes the aforementioned biographer as saying, "Sunday brought the cure." To further the point, MacDonald offers the following excerpt from Wilberforce's journal: "Blessed be to God for the day of rest and religious occupation wherein earthly things assume their true size." (emphasis added)

As we go about our business, let us all resolve to keep our work in proper perspective.